Protection device, offshore support platform and offshore wind turbine generator system

ABSTRACT

A protection device for an offshore support platform, comprising at least two protection rings arranged with top and bottom spacing, the protection rings are configured to be arranged on the periphery of the support column of the offshore support platform; An offshore support platform, comprising a support platform and a support column, the upper end of the support column is connected to the support platform, the lower end of the support column is inserted into the seabed; the offshore support platform further comprises the aforementioned protection device, and the protection ring of the protection device is connected to the support column. In the protection device and offshore support platform according to the present invention, the interaction between the protection rings and wave can change the motion of water particles, thus significantly reducing the height of wave, and reducing the energy of wave.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application 201110285627.2, filed on Sep. 23, 2011, entitled “Protection Device, Offshore Support Platform and Offshore Wind Turbine Generator System”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY

The present invention relates to wind power generation technology, and particularly to a protection device, an offshore support platform and an offshore wind turbine generator system.

BACKGROUND

As the most sophisticated technology suitable for large-scale development and with great commercial potential in new energy field, wind power generation has made rapid progress. The application of wind power generation technology has extended from land to ocean, and offshore wind power generation is becoming the focus of development in new energy field.

To make use of offshore wind energy, there is a need to erect an offshore support platform on the seabed in offshore sea area and arrange a wind turbine generator on the offshore support platform, and the wind turbine generator transforms wind energy to electrical energy.

The load characteristics of an offshore wind turbine generator are different from those of an onshore wind turbine generator, and the load acting on the offshore wind turbine generator is very complicated. Apart from inertia, gravity load, aerodynamic load and performance load similar to that of the onshore wind turbine generator, the load on the offshore wind turbine generator further comprises wave load, offshore ice load, ship impact load and etc, which directly or indirectly act on the offshore support platform.

In the process of development of the present invention, the inventors found that the conventional offshore support platform has technical disadvantages as below:

In practical application, the conventional offshore support platform will be subjected to direct impact from the wave load, the transient impact of the wave load is very large, which is able to severely damage the offshore support platform and influence the stability of offshore support platform and operation safety of offshore wind turbine generator system.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present invention provides a protection device and an offshore support platform, aiming to solve the disadvantages that the offshore support platform in the prior art is easily damaged due to impulse of wave load. The protection device and the offshore support platform are capable of weakening intensity of wave load and improving the stability of offshore support platform and operation safety of offshore wind turbine generator system.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a protection device, which comprises at least two protection rings arranged from top to bottom with a spacing therebetween, the protection rings are configured to surround the periphery of the support columns of the offshore support platform.

Preferably, the diameters of the protection rings increase from upper protection ring to lower protection ring.

Preferably, the protection device further comprises a first connection beam between the protection rings.

Preferably, the number of the protection rings is two, three or four, or more.

Preferably, an outer annulus surface of the protection ring is a sloped surface inclined to the center of the protection ring, and an outer ring edge of the protection ring is lower than an inner ring edge of the protection ring.

Preferably, a cross section of the protection ring is of airfoil shape, and an outer ring edge of the protection ring is lower than an inner ring edge of the protection ring.

Preferably, the protection device further comprises a central circular pipe and a reinforcement beam; the central circular pipe is located within the protection ring and concentric with the protection ring, one end of the reinforcement beam is connected to the protection ring and the other end of the reinforcement beam is connected to the central circular pipe.

Preferably, the reinforcement beam is an oval pipe, and the long axis in the section of the oval pipe is parallel to the horizontal plane.

Preferably, the offshore support platform is configured to support the offshore wind turbine generator.

Still another aspect of the present invention provides an offshore support platform, which comprises a support platform and a support column, the upper end of the support column is connected to the support platform, the lower end of the support column is inserted into the seabed, and the offshore support platform further comprises the aforementioned protection device, the protection ring of the protection device is connected to the support column.

Preferably, the offshore support platform further comprises a second connection beam; the second connection beam is connected between the protection ring and the support column.

Preferably, the second connection beam is an oval pipe, and the long axis in the section of the oval pipe is parallel to the horizontal plane.

Yet still another aspect of the present invention provides an offshore wind turbine generator system, which comprises an offshore wind turbine generator and an offshore support platform; the offshore support platform comprises a support platform and a support column, the upper end of the support column is connected to the support platform, the lower end of the support column is inserted into the seabed; the offshore wind turbine generator is provided on the offshore support platform, the offshore wind turbine generator system further comprises the aforementioned protection device, and the protection device is arranged on the periphery of the support column.

According to various aspects of the present invention, the protection device and offshore support platform comprise at least two protection rings arranged with top and bottom spacing, the protection rings can be arranged on the periphery of the support column of the offshore support platform, the interaction between the protection rings and wave can change the motion of water particles, thus significantly reducing the height of wave, reducing the energy of wave, and thereby weakening intensity of wave load on the support column of the offshore support platform and improving the stability of offshore support platform and operation safety of offshore wind turbine generator system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the protection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line B-B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for the protection ring according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

1 support platform 2 support column 3 protection ring 31 airfoil 4 first connection beam 5 central circular 6 reinforcement 7 second connection pipe beam beam

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the protection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a view taken along line B-B in FIG. 1.

A first embodiment of the present invention provides a protection device for an offshore support platform, which comprises at least two protection rings 3 arranged from top to bottom with a spacing therebetween, the protection rings 3 are configured to surround the periphery of the support columns 2 of the offshore support platform, the protection rings 3 can be fixedly connected to the support columns 2 via various types of connectors, and the offshore support platform can be configured to support the offshore wind turbine generator. The protection device further comprises a first connection beam 4 between the protection rings 3, or a plurality of first connection beams 4 connecting in parallel the protection rings 3 with spacing.

Number and spacing of protection rings 3 can be determined depending on the wave size of the practical sea area, if the wave load of a sea area throughout the year is big, then the number of the protection rings 3 is increased or the spacing between the protection rings 3 is reduced, for better reducing energy of the wave. In particular, in this embodiment, the number of the protection rings 3 can be three, and three protection rings 3 can be concentrically arranged from top to bottom with spacing. Of course, the number of protection rings 3 also can be two, four or more.

The diameters of different protection rings 3 can be the same or different, and the cross-sectional dimension of different protection rings 3 can be the same or different, for example, when the protection device is arranged on the periphery of the support columns 2, the area of the surface of the protection rings 3 facing the sea waves can be greater than that of the opposite surface of the protection rings 3 facing away from the sea waves, so as to improve the capability of the protection rings 3 to weaken intensity of wave load.

In the protection device according to this embodiment, protection rings 3 can be arranged to surround the periphery of the support columns 2 of the offshore support platform, the interaction between the protection rings 3 and wave can change the motion pattern of water particles, thus significantly reducing the height of wave, reducing the energy of wave, and thereby weakening intensity of wave load on the support columns 2 of the offshore support platform and improving the stability of offshore support platform and operation safety of offshore wind turbine generator system.

It should be noted that, further improvements to the protection device can be made on the basis of the above embodiment.

In the protection rings 3 arranged with spacing, the diameters of different protection rings 3 increase from upper protection ring to lower protection ring, and the diameters of the protection rings 3 can gradually increase in proportion, so as to weaken intensity of wave load even more. The protection rings 3 are arranged concentrically, such that the protection rings 3 can be subjected to the wave load more evenly. That is to say, there are vertical spacing and horizontal spacing between two neighboring protection rings, and based on wave theory, the above structure can weaken the energy of wave in the horizontal direction, improve the stability of offshore support platform and operation safety of offshore wind turbine generator system.

Further, the outer annulus surface of the protection ring 3 is a sloped surface inclined to the center of the protection ring 3, that is, the outer ring edge of the protection ring is larger and lower than the inner ring edge, the sloped surface can be a sloping plane, an arced surface, or other shaped surfaces inclining to the center of the protection ring 3. When waves act on the outer annulus surface of the protection ring 3, a downward component force can be generated to improve the stability of offshore support platform.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cross section of the protection ring 3 can be made into an airfoil shape 31, and the outer ring edge of the protection ring 3 is lower than inner ring edge when installed. The cross section of the protection ring 3 is configured into a structure of airfoil shape 31 or similar shape, such structure can reduce the resistance of the protection ring 3 to the waves and improve the effect of weakening wave energy. In addition, since the outer ring edge of the protection ring 3 is lower than the inner ring edge, that is, the cross section of the protection ring 3 has a downward angle, the above structure can generate a downward vertical pressure when waves act on the outer annulus surface of the protection ring 3, thereby further improve the stability of offshore support platform.

In addition, in order to further improve the overall rigidity of the protection device, the protection device further comprises a central circular pipe 5 and a reinforcement beam 6; the central circular pipe 5 is located within the protection ring 3 and concentric with the protection ring 3, one end of the reinforcement beam 6 is connected to the protection ring 3 and the other end of the reinforcement beam 6 is connected to the central circular pipe 5. Further, the reinforcement beam 6 is an oval pipe, and the long axis in the section of the oval pipe is parallel to the horizontal plane, that is, the reinforcement beam 6 is arranged flat, which can reduce the resistance, and the reinforcement beam 6 adopts an oval pipe to facilitate the welding with the protection ring 3.

Also as shown in FIGS. 1-3, a second embodiment of the present invention further provides an offshore support platform, which comprises a support platform 1 and a support column 2, the upper end of the support column 2 is connected to the support platform 1, the lower end of the support column 2 is inserted into the seabed, and the offshore support platform further comprises the protection device described in the above embodiments, the protection ring 3 of the protection device is connected to the support column 2. The offshore support platform further comprises a second connection beam 7; the second connection beam 7 is connected between the protection ring 3 and the support column 2.

Further, the second connection beam 7 can be an oval pipe, and the long axis in the cross section of the oval pipe is parallel to the horizontal plane. The offshore support platform is configured to support the offshore wind turbine generator.

In the offshore support platform according to this embodiment, protection rings 3 can be arranged on the periphery of the support column 2 of the offshore support platform, the interaction between the protection rings 3 and wave can change the motion pattern of water particles, thus significantly reducing the height of wave, reducing the wave energy, and thereby weakening intensity of wave load on the support column 2 of the offshore support platform and improving the stability of offshore support platform and operation safety of offshore wind turbine generator system.

A third embodiment of the present invention provides an offshore wind turbine generator system, which comprises an offshore wind turbine generator and an offshore support platform; the offshore support platform comprises a support platform and a support column, the upper end of the support column is connected to the support platform, the lower end of the support column is inserted into the seabed; the offshore wind turbine generator is provided on the offshore support platform, the offshore wind turbine generator system further comprises the aforementioned protection device, and the protection device is arranged on the periphery of the support column.

According to this embodiment, the offshore wind turbine generator system is provided with a protection device, which is able to improve the stability of offshore support platform and operation safety of offshore wind turbine generator system.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are merely provided for describing the technical solutions of the present invention, but not intended to limit the present invention. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, modifications can be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent replacements can be made to some technical features in the technical solutions, such modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of corresponding technical solutions to depart from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A protection device for an offshore support platform, comprising at least two protection rings arranged from top to bottom with a spacing therebetween, the protection rings are configured to surround the periphery of the support columns of the offshore support platform.
 2. The protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the diameters of the protection rings increase from upper protection ring to lower protection ring.
 3. The protection device according to claim 1, further comprising a first connection beam between the protection rings.
 4. The protection device according to claim 2, further comprising a first connection beam between the protection rings.
 5. The protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the number of the protection rings is two, three or four.
 6. The protection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, the number of the protection rings is two, three or four.
 7. The protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, an outer annulus surface of the protection ring is a sloped surface inclined to the center of the protection ring, and an outer ring edge of the protection ring is lower than an inner ring edge of the protection ring.
 8. The protection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, an outer annulus surface of the protection ring is a sloped surface inclined to the center of the protection ring, and an outer ring edge of the protection ring is lower than an inner ring edge of the protection ring.
 9. The protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, a cross section of the protection ring is of airfoil shape, and an outer ring edge of the protection ring is lower than an inner ring edge of the protection ring.
 10. The protection device according to claim 2, characterized in that, a cross section of the protection ring is of airfoil shape, and an outer ring edge of the protection ring is lower than an inner ring edge of the protection ring.
 11. The protection device according to claim 1, further comprising a central circular pipe and a reinforcement beam; the central circular pipe is located within the protection ring and concentric with the protection ring, one end of the reinforcement beam is connected to the protection ring and the other end of the reinforcement beam is connected to the central circular pipe.
 12. The protection device according to claim 2, further comprising a central circular pipe and a reinforcement beam; the central circular pipe is located within the protection ring and concentric with the protection ring, one end of the reinforcement beam is connected to the protection ring and the other end of the reinforcement beam is connected to the central circular pipe.
 13. The protection device according to claim 12, characterized in that, the reinforcement beam is an oval pipe, and the long axis in the cross section of the oval pipe is parallel to the horizontal plane.
 14. The protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the offshore support platform is configured to support an offshore wind turbine generator.
 15. An offshore support platform, comprising a support platform and a support column, the upper end of the support column is connected to the support platform, the lower end of the support column is inserted into the seabed; wherein the offshore support platform further comprises the protection device as recited in claim 1, and the protection ring of the protection device is connected to the support column.
 16. The offshore support platform according to claim 15, further comprising a second connection beam; the second connection beam is connected between the protection ring and the support column.
 17. The offshore support platform according to claim 16, characterized in that, the reinforcement beam is an oval pipe, and the long axis in the section of the oval pipe is parallel to the horizontal plane.
 18. The protection device according to claim 14, characterized in that, the offshore support platform is configured to support an offshore wind turbine generator.
 19. An offshore wind turbine generator system, comprising an offshore wind turbine generator and an offshore support platform, wherein the offshore support platform comprises a support platform and a support column, the upper end of the support column is connected to the support platform, the lower end of the support column is inserted into the seabed; the offshore wind turbine generator is provided on the offshore support platform, the offshore wind turbine generator system further comprises the protection device as recited in claim 1, and the protection device is arranged on the periphery of the support column. 